Mike’s 2008 Year List

Why keep a year list?

I’m aware that some birders scorn the obsessive tabulation and parsing of bird sightings based on geography, chronology, or taxonomy. If I’ve already seen a Vermilion Flycatcher in Central America, some of you may ask, why should it matter if I have or haven’t seen one somewhere in North America as long as it isn’t Mexico, the Caribbean, or the Pacific Islands (the ABA area)? Good question indeed, the answer to which would only make sense to a lister. And a lister is what I am. I don’t tally types of cars or hot sauces I’ve sampled. I don’t collect autographs, stamps, or Hummel figurines. What I like to do is see birds and record the sightings. While the object of my observation is paramount in the equation, on one level, the desire to list further propels the passion. In short, if I wasn’t listing, I wouldn’t see as many species. I also wouldn’t know what I’ve seen since some of these beauties have crossed my path only briefly, ships passing in the night, one flying, the other anxiously craning his neck for a better look.

So there it is… I love listing. Here’s my 2008 year list (life birds in CAPS, heard only in italics):